If you went to a traditional school, you probably have yearbooks on a shelf or in a closet. Too often we may believe our children will miss out of the ritual of looking for their picture, signing and getting books signed, and looking back at those memories.
Not so. It’s possible for homeschool students to have yearbooks. Our kids can have the same opportunities we had—and more. (Read “Remember When? Homeschool Yearbooks” at Homeschool with a Heart blog.)
I know. I know. Who needs one. more. thing. Right? Don’t think of a yearbook project as “one more thing to do.” Incorporate it into your yearly school plan with a unit study.
What can you and your children learn?
Writing. Learning to write is basic. Why not include some of the techniques needed for clear descriptions and interesting introductions. The comments made during the year, called journaling in scrapbooks, can be sentences, paragraphs, essays, or poetry.
Journalism. Basic journalism techniques of writing headlines and copy can be explored. Teach the inverted pyramid (most important on top) and the principles of including the five Ws (who, what, where, when, why) in each written piece. (See SchoolJournalism.org for ideas)
Photography. With digital cameras and cell phone cameras, even young children can begin to take and select their own pictures. Older students can go beyond basics to learning portrait photography or sports photography. In addition, student can learn how to use photo editing programs to create good quality pictures for publication. (See Focus on Photography: A Curriculum Guide https://www.icp.org/sites/default/files/icp_curriculum_guide_part2.pdf)
Graphic Arts. Every page of an yearbook is a visual element. Graphic arts is the techniques used to make pleasing elements. Whether in a scrapbook or a group book, the concepts are the same.
Marketing. To help offset the cost of the printing, groups often sell advertising. The principles of how to effectively sell a product (the ad in the publication) are essential.
Planning. Especially if you are using a yearbook printing company, deadlines will have to met to ensure the book is ready on time. The company will sometimes establish the deadlines. The students will learn to plan each step of the production schedule to meet those deadlines. Missing deadlines can be costly.
By incorporating this activity into your homeschool, a tradition can be a learning experience for the family.
For more ideas to add to your unit study, see The Yearbook Index.
{Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash}
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